The American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Plate, posted on Diabetes Food Hub on May 14, 2026, starts with a plate about nine inches across. Half of that plate is non-starchy vegetables. The other half splits into two quarters, lean protein and carbohydrate foods. Carbohydrate foods are the quarter that raises blood glucose the most after a meal. Beans and lentils are listed with protein and still count toward the carbohydrate quarter.

Half the plate is non-starchy vegetables

Non-starchy vegetables on that page include broccoli, leafy greens, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, and cabbage. They contain less carbohydrate than potatoes, rice, or fruit, so the half-plate of them moves blood glucose less than the same space filled with starch. A dinner plate wider than nine inches gets replaced by a salad plate, or by the inner border of a lipped plate, when that inner area is about nine inches.

Carbohydrate foods take one quarter

The carbohydrate quarter holds whole grains, starchy vegetables such as corn, peas, and potatoes, fruit, and milk or yogurt. The ADA page says keeping this share to one quarter of the plate can help keep blood glucose from rising too high after the meal. The drink beside the plate is water, unsweetened tea, unsweetened coffee, or sparkling water, because those add no carbohydrate.

Lean protein fills the remaining quarter. Fish, poultry, eggs, lean meat, tofu, and tempeh are the examples. Animal protein often carries saturated fat, so the page points to lean cuts.

Beans count in the carbohydrate quarter too

The same page puts beans, lentils, hummus, and falafel on the plant-protein list, then lists beans and legumes again under carbohydrate foods. A serving of lentils can sit in the protein quarter and still has to be counted in the carbohydrate quarter. Soup, pizza, pasta, and sandwiches get split the same way, back into vegetables, protein, and carbohydrate. The pizza example on the page is a thin or vegetable crust, more vegetables than meat, one or two slices, and a salad, so half the meal is still non-starchy vegetables.

The page sends the fit of this layout to a dietitian or a diabetes care and education specialist. The nine-inch plate is a public starting layout.

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